Members of the faith community and peace organizations braved the cold Sunday to make a statement against violence in the Middle East.

Advertisement

“We abhor war,” said Bob Brammer of the Ecumenical Prayer Service. “’War is not the answer’ is our general feeling.”

On the heels of President Barack Obama’s trip to Israel, close to 100 central Iowans gathered to promote peace in the region.

Every year on Palm Sunday people join the march to send a message. This year, organizers chose peace in Israel and Palestine as their top concern.

“It’s something we just feel like we have to do, for our own selves,” Brammer said. “We have to express ourselves with the message that war is not the answer. We want to seek peace.”

People of different backgrounds gathered on the religious holiday to turn a political debate into a message of morality.

“We’ve just celebrated or observed the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, which was a disaster,” Brammer said. “We need to wind down the Afghanistan war, and we are here to say, 'we don’t want war against Iran. We don’t want another war.'”

The procession’s focus was a non-violent resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“It’s one of the key places in the Middle East where we desperately need peace , or a two-state solution or whatever it is that can keep the folks … from the Palestinians from being trapped and the Israelis from being violent,” said volunteer Susie Paloma.

They don’t pretend to have all the answers on how to bring about a more peaceful world, but they hope t he symbols they care of peace and violence will resonate with those who watched them march through downtown Des Moines.

“Of course while we’re at it, we’d like to let our elected officials know that there’s a clamor for peace among the people of central Iowa and all Iowans,” Brammer said.

The march ended downtown with a prayer service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.